White Turmeric - Curcuma zedoaria

The most beautiful bloom today is a pink flower growing out of the ground directly.


White Turmeric (Curcuma zedoaria). AKA "Hidden Ginger"
The tuberous rhizomes are actually white (rather than orange as most turmeric)

White Turmeric (Curcuma zedoaria)

Double Bridal Wreath (Reeves Spirea)

Common Names: double bridal wreath, double Reeves, Reeves meadowsweet.

Reeves spirea

Spiraea cantoniensis (spy-REE-uh kan-toe-nee-EN-sis)

The Reeves Spirea is described on the Floridata website:

The leaves are about 2 in (5.1 cm) long, dark green on top, pale blue green beneath, and diamond shaped with toothed margins. The small roselike flowers (0.5 in in diameter) have five (or many) white petals and are borne in round clusters about 2 in (5.1 cm) across and are profusely distributed all over the bush.

….If it is necessary to prune (and that’s a pity!), do so right after flowering, before the next year’s flower buds develop.

Our Bridal Wreath bloomed slightly last fall (see the article here.) but is again in full bloom this spring. We have several but here is a sample of what the bush looks like:

Bridal Wreath (Reeve's Spirea)

And here is a photo of the blooms in close-up:
Bridal Wreath (Reeve's Spirea)

Generally, the blooms are gone by the end of April.

Tung Tree Bloom

Tung Tree Bloom

Tung Tree Bloom

The "Tung Tree Bloom" photo above is entirely for you! I post the photos of our blooms ONLY for your enjoyment. I get no pay (actually it costs me a lot of time and effort - and some money) but I want to share God's natural beauty.

George Tabor Azalea Anniversary Present

George Tabor Azalea

George Tabor Azalea close up

Our George Tabor Azalea plants gave us a beautiful anniversary present this year! All of our azaleas were beautiful but the soft pink blooms of the George Tabor made it an the absolute favorite.

Our winters in South Louisiana are normally not as long or cold as most other states but this year was especially cold. Sometimes our temps were lower than many northern cities. So when our azaleas started blooming in mid-March, we were very excited! By the first of April, our front porch bed was almost glowing with the beautiful pink blooms of our George Tabor Azalea.

For a guide to growing azaleas, visit the Azalea Society website

Purple Loropetalum (Chinese Loropetalum)

Loropetalum is found with either white or pink blooms. Ours is the pink/purple variety, commonly called Purple Loropetalum (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum) or Chinese Loropetalum.  The leaves start green and then turn to purple after the blooms are gone. The blooms are more of a fuchsia color.

Purple Loropetalum

Purple Loropetalum Blooms close-up (in Feb)

We planted our Loropetalum near our Japanese Magnolia, and they both bloom at approximately the same time. The colors are both very similar and (in my opinion) complement each other.  See what you think:

Purple Loropetalum & Japanese Magnolia both in bloom (March)

It is a bit difficult to see the difference but the Loropetalum is behind the Japanese Magnolia and seems to emphasise the color of its blooms.

After the blooms on both trees fall off, the Loropetalum's leaves turn purple.

If you would like additional information about the Loropetalum plant, visit the Clemson University website here.

Japanese Magnolia February, Tulip Tree

Japanese Magnolia February

In Southeast Louisiana (and in many other areas of the south), the first tree to bloom in early spring is usually the Japanese Magnolia. The scientific name is Magnolia X Soulangiana or Magnolia Liliiflora. It is also known as Saucer Magnolia, Tulip Tree, Mulan magnolia, Purple magnolia, Red magnolia, Lily magnolia, Tulip magnolia, Jane magnolia,. and Woody-orchid.

For Japanese Magnolia February is the start of blooming. This article shows only the photographs from the month of February. Later articles will feature the development of the blooms through the months of March and April.

The blooms appear before the first leaves so the entire tree seems to explode with a lavender or purple color.
Japanese Magnolia from February

See our previous post featuring the Japanese Magnolia here. In that post, I show some photos of the tree blooming in September of 2013.

Narcissus Blooms (AKA Daffodil or Jonquil)

Daffodil, Jonquil, Narcissus Blooms

Narcissus pseudonarcissus (daffodil)

The Daffodils / Narcissus Blooms were gorgeous this year and they continue to bloom even now (mid April).

Regardless of what you call them (Daffodil, Jonquil, or Narcissus), these little beauties return each spring and are some of the earliest and most colorful blooms in the late winter or early spring. Our Narcissus blooms started appearing in February.

Here is a beautiful bloom (white with a gorgeous orange center) that I particularly like. This was some of the first of our Daffodils to bloom and some are still blooming.
Daffodil, Jonquil, Narcissus blooms

The history (& legend) of the Narcissus is very interesting and relates to the Greek gods of legend. The entire plant (but especially the bulb) is very toxic (poisonous) to small animals and even humans. See more at the Britannia website here.

Also, you may wish to visit our previous page here. Notice that we had one Paper White Narcissus Tazetta to bloom at the first of December, last year!

Camellia Japonica

Types of Camellia

Our Camellia bushes bloomed off and on since last fall and some bushes are still in bloom (mid April).

There are two major varieties of Camellia: Camellia Sasanqua and Camellia Japonica. Generally, there are two differences between them:

1. Time of bloom - Sasanqua generally bloom in the late fall and beginning of winter while Japonica bloom in later winter and into the spring.


2. Bloom falls - Sasanqua blooms fall off one petal at a time, while Japonica blooms fall as an entire bloom.

Our Camellia Japonica blooms are almost all gone but here are some of the most beautiful blooms from February:

Pink Camellia Japonica

We have several previous pages which include some very pretty photos:

White & Pink Camellia Japonica 

Pink Camellia Sasanqua

Pink Camellia Sasanqua

Camellia Sasanqua Entrance

If you would like to know more about Camellias, the Wikipedia page has a very nice description of the plant. They also include some history and uses of the plant. Examples: In Asian countries they make tea from the leaves. They press the seeds and extract the oil which they use in cooking. They even use the oil from the plant for hair care!

You might also like to visit the International Camellia Society webpage. Their site offers more photos and articles about Camellias.

Winter Bloomers 2

Winter Bloomers 2

This post is about our INDOOR plants that bloomed throughout the winter. Our Anthurium (Anthurium andreanum) blooms almost year round. I do not consider it a "spectacular" plant but it is nice to have something blooming in the cold months. Here are some photos of our plant in February:

Anthurium on 2/14/14

A good source of information about the Anthurium plant is the Akatsuka Orchid Farms website. Visit them here.

Our African Violets (Saintpaulia inconspicua) also bloom almost continuously. We have a couple different hybrids but I do not know the exact name. Here is a picture of one from back in September.

African Violet on 09/30/13

And here is one from March.

African Violet taken 03/19/14


African Violet taken 03/19/14

For more beautiful photos of African Violets, visit our page here. If you would like to start growing African Violets, you might want to visit the Purdue University website and read their article here.

Finally, we had several other plants that bloomed for part of the winter but, since they were in our (unheated) greenhouse, the extreme cold killed them:

Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea glabra) - see our previous page here.

Bougainvillea on 01/06/14

And, finally, our Dragon Wing Begonia (see our previous page here.)
Dragon Wing Begonia

Winter Bloomers

Winter Bloomers

We had a few plants that bloomed throughout the winter. 

Outdoors, our Pansies (VIOLA X WITTROCKIANA) never stopped blooming.

fPansy Blotch White Colossus taken 10/29/13

Here is a photo of them in February:
Our Pansies were still in bloom on 02/19/14

If you wish to learn more about growing Pansies, visit our page at http://bloom.btloc.com/2013/10/31/pansy-blotch-white-colossus/ or the Texas A&M website.

We also had several Dianthus plants (DIANTHUS PLUMARIUS) that bloomed throughout the winter. This is what they looked like in September:

Feathered Pink Dianthus from 09/07/13

They look a little better now (04/12/14):
Dianthus on 04/12/14

We also have some mounding Dianthus that I will post about later. They are blooming now and are really pretty.

If you would like to know more about Dianthus plants, visit our page http://bloom.btloc.com/2013/09/08/white-dianthus/ or, for more information, visit The Tree Farm here.

Which Blooms?

Our First Blooms of the Spring

Our Hyacinths...
Pink Hyacinth - one of our first blooms

Granada Blanket Flower

Cherokee Rose

Cherokee Rose

Rosa laevigata Michx.

The Cherokee Rose grows wild across all the Southeastern US. It normally is seen as a climbing vine attached to trees (often 20 feet or more) and draping down with beautiful white flowers with golden centers. It blooms in early spring and the blooms only last a couple weeks. It is a true rose with thorns typical of most roses.

We do not own any of these plants but they are very common in this area. I found numerous plants on the side of the roads. I was able to get close to this particular plant and get some close-up pictures of the blooms.
Blooms of Cherokee Rose



Full Length of Cherokee Rose
Cherokee Rose

For more information about the Cherokee Rose, visit the plant profile page on the USDA website here. If you decide to acquire one of these plants, be careful about placement - it can be invasive.

History of the Cherokee Rose

Some may wonder how this plant, which is native to China, could be named after the Cherokee (Native American Indian) tribe. The Mississippi State University website offers a bit of history on the Cherokee Rose here.

The University of South Florida website includes an article about the forced re-location of the native Cherokee tribes (commonly called "The trail of tears"). The legend says that, during the march, the Cherokee mothers cried so much that they were unable to care for their children. The chiefs prayed for a sign to encourage the mothers and the white rose grew from the places where their tears fell.

Wild Azalea Phlox Pink

Wild Azalea Phlox Pink

Spring has definitely "sprung" in South Louisiana!

Some of the most beautiful and prominent blooms here are our Azaleas. The blooms usually precede the leaves so they create literal "walls of blooms" in practically every yard. The colors range from paper white to pink, to red, to orange, lavender, or purple! Unfortunately, the blooms only last a few weeks - but we certainly enjoy them while they are here.

I will post some photos of our azaleas in the next few days but first, I want to present the native (or wild) version of our azaleas. Unfortunately, we do not have one (we are planning to get one in the near future). However, a few of our neighbors do have them and I was able to get some gorgeous pictures of them in prime beauty! (BTW, some folks mistakenly assume that these are a kind of honey suckle plant since the blooms are similar.)

Bloom of Wild Azalea Phlox Pink

Rhododendron canescens, the piedmont or Florida Pinxter Azalea (?)

Bush of Wild Azalea Phlox Pink

Buds of Wild Azalea Phlox Pink

For more information about the azalea plant, visit the Azalea Society website. For specifics on the Phlox Pink, their page is located here. For a guide to identifying native azaleas, visit the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology website here and here.

Do you have any wild azaleas? Send us your photos. Your comments are always welcome.